Grab-bucket.



' No. 723.133. PATBNTED MAR. 17,1903.

A. E. BRQWN. GRAB BUCKET. APPLICATION FILED OUT. 13, 1902.

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A. E. BROWN.

GRAB BUCKET. APPLICATION FILED OCT. 13, 1902.

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No. 723,133. PATENTED MAR.1'7, 1903..

A. E. BROWN.

GRAB BUCKET. APPLICATION FILED OUT. 13, 1902.

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PATENT UFFICE.

ALEXANDERE. .BRowN, or. CLEVELAND, oII1o, Ass1eNoR TO THE BROWN Y TION.

fI-IOISTING MACHINERYCO'MPANY, or CLEVELAND, OHIO, A CORPORA- G AB-even SPECIFICATION forming art of LettersPatent No. 723,133, dated March 17, 1903.

Application filed oaths 13, 1902. Serial No. 127.0iz. (Nomodcla Toalt whom itptay concern:

BROWN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cleveland, in the county of Ouyahoga 5 and Stateof Ohio, have invented a new and which I herebydeclare the following to be a full, clear, and .exact description, due refer-- to ones being had and intended to the several drawingsaccompanying thisspecification andv which I mean to have considered a part:

gathred and held by bringing together within the material to be loaded two oppositely related bucket segments or jaws. A familiar type of this class. is ,the .so-called clam;- shell bucket, whosejaws'rotate about a conimon pivot at their upper ends and when closed make up a semispherical receptacle or bucket proper. In this particular type the line of travel of the blades is a fixed curve, and under the best conditions the quantity grabbed by buckets of this description each operation is largely determined and limited by the depth of the'initial penetration. Inasmuch as the bucket at that moment, with its blades or jaws, is rapidly drawn upward penetration not suffice-for a load. as thejaws begin to close it is not likely that in the pas will {be increased. In this type of bucket series ofcurvilinear cuts or scoops, and such buckets therefore. are not adapted to clean up tliecornersof a receptacle or to pickup materialanywherewhen the lowest depth of snchmateri'al is reached. At the final stages,

. therefore, of thezproccssof unloading barges, bins, or.docksi-thcirwork must always be supplementedbyfhand- In all "buckets'of the ,geueralclass referredto, including, of course, the particular type just mentioned, byreason of the necessity, on the principle of their designs of making the opposite jaws close against each other, not only along the cutting or scraping edges, but along the upright Be it known that lyAhEXANDEREPIIRA-IM useful Grab-Bucket for the Automatic Hand-. ling of Coal, Ore, and other Material, as to.

terial from stock-piles, wherebyth'e load is.

and out of the source of supply, should the sage of the bucket upward the original charge.

also the material is always carried away in involves.

sides of said jaws, the jaws themselves are impaired in. their efliciency as scraping, or scooping instruments. Because of the need just referred to, due to their dual character of bucket-halves and bucket segments or jaws, each bucket segment orjaw must carry inadvance of and at right angles to the buckets scooping-surfaces the portion or parts that are to form thebuckets sides when the jaws are closed. In the operation of closing, however, these often interfere with an effective filling, because should embedded lumps of coal or ore or boulders in earth-excavities be encountered by these portions or parts on the jaws that are to constitute the buckets sides when the jaws are closed, as aforesaid,

the scraping edge proper of the jaws will thereby be raised in or out of the stock-pile, much as, for instance, a sled-body would be carried from thenormal should one of its runne'rs or shoes encounter an obstacle.

It is the purpose and object of my present invention to provide an effective instrument of the class specifiedwhose principle of construction and operation combines and utilizes to the best advantage both the dipping or scooping features referred to and a desirable scraping movement of the jaws when in contact with the material to be loaded, and, furthermore and to an eminent degree, provides the necessary sides for the bucket proper without the undesirable features last described. By reason of this characterization the bucket I have invented is adapted to fill-itself with material without regard to whether such is located either in. corners or You fiat surfaces and however slight its depth may be and to retain whatever material is once grabbed without spilling or .loss. At the same time said bucket is rapid and simple in action, is not liable,to fail of a load by reason of encountering gross obstacles, and is designed to meet all strains that its work In the accompanying drawings, FigureI is a side elevation of a complete bucket combucket when closed, with dotted lines indi-.

cating the path of its jaws from an open to a closed position. Fig. III is a similar view of ments J J, at each side thereof.

the bucket when open. Fig. IV is a vertical sectional view on the line 4 L of Fig. I in the direction of the arrow. Fig. V is a horizontal sectional view downward on the line 5 5 of Fig. II. Fig. VI is a similarsectional view on the line 6 6 of Fig. II. Fig. VII is an enlarged detached section on the line 7 7 of Fig. 11.

Similar reference characters are used on the same parts throughout the drawings.

B is the bucket as a whole. It is made up of an exterior housing or frame I-I, flaring at its lower portion to the front and rear and having downwardly-projecting side pieces S and S, as indicated and as hereinafter more fully described. Along the bottom of the sides of said housing H, both within and without the same, is securely fastened a rail or track T, upon which are hung sliding blocks or pieces I) b, pivotally connected with the forward portion of the jaws or bucket-seg- The jaws J J are composed of two parallel sides 19 10,

joined at their outer ends by a blade-like part D D, which is set at a sharp outward pitch or angle to the vertical through its lower or cutting edge. The parallel sidespp, however, especially in an important application of my present invention claimed herein, are cutaway and recede upwardly from the lower or scraping edges of the blade-like parts D D toward and to their upper ends,

so that when the jaws J J are brought together and the bucket thereby closed a certain relatively limited portion of the b'uckets sides will thereby be made up, and a considerable open space or aperture between the opposing sides of the bucket segments or jaws will exist. The purpose of thus designing said sides pp so that they recede upwardly,

as shown and described, is of course to reduce to a minimum or remove entirely from the form of bucket segments or jaws needed in an automatic implement of the kind in question such portions or parts of the same which,.though desirable to complete the bucket proper when its constituting jaws are closed, nevertheless essentially interfere with its filling function. In the form shown in the drawings the front and rear of said jaws are preferably uninclosed and extend out beyond the housing H when opened to their outward limit. The sides 1) p are shown as stiffened by the cross-pieces and diagonal ties e e.

Centrally within the housing H, I locate a block or head C, carrying a series of sheaves M M, mounted .upon a common journal or shaftj, transversely seated in the framework of said'head or block. At its opposite ends the said head or block is provided with trunnions t 15, adapted to register and be in engagement with vertical guides or grooves g g, located on the opposite interior sides of the housing II for the purpose. Said grooves g g extend up and down the said housing and at their lowestlimits have stops d (1, adapted to be encountered by the trunnions t 25 when at such points in their downward movement. Said trunnious in the specific construction illustrated are utilized as pivotal hearings or journals for-the inner ends of sides p p of the jaws J J, which are connected thereto accordingly. At the top of the housingH is located a second block or head E, containing another series of sheaves M M, which in the construction illustrated are oneless in number than the sheaves of the lower block or head 0. The sheaves in said blocks or heads 0 and E are setat such angles with relation to each other that the planes of any pair of strands of the operating-rope reeved around the same shall be at right angles to the axis of said sheaves. With respect to the center line of the buckets top said sheaves are given such an angle that the onrunuing and offrunning portion of. the operating-rope shall come on the center line of said buckets top. Rope guides or eyes 'm n are provided on opposite sides of the block or head E, with centers corresponding with the center line of the bucket B. Hinged to the block or headE is the hoisting-block G, having rope guides or eyes mn at either side registering with the guides or eyes m n on the block E.

O is the operating-rope whereby the bucket is closed or allowed to open. It passes downward through the eye m at around a sheave in the lower block or head 0, thence upwardly around a corresponding sheave in the upper block or head E, down around the next adjacent sheave in the block O, and so on around any remaining sheaves in said heads until its reeving amongthem is completed, when the outgoing portion of said rope is carried up through the eyes at and n to the hoisting mechanism.

R is the hoistiug-rope,which is reeved about the hoist-block G and connected with the source of power in the usual manner.

Being constructed and equipped in the manner above pointed out, said bucket is oper-- ated by lowering the same above the material from which it is to derive its load by paying out both the hoisting and the operating ropes. When in proximity to said material, the hoisting-rope is held taut and the operating-rope O is slackened. The block or head 0 being thus freed, will, by reason of its weight, descend within the housing H, being guided vertically by the said tru union-grooves and at the same time carrying with it and depressing the pivoted inner ends of the jaws J J. It is evidentthat by this movement the said jaws, being pivotally connected near their outer ends to the sliding blocks or pieces I? and I), mounted on the tracks or guides T, said blocks will be forced outwardly along said'tracksand carry with them the outer ends of said jaws J and the bucket thereby opened. The contour of said track Tis such that, in connection with the vertical movement of the head 0, the blades D D of the jaws J in their course in opening and closing may be constrained to describe any desired IIO curve or course within the buckets limits such, for instance, as that indicated by the dotted lines, in Fig. II. In practice, particularly where material is to be taken from fiat 5 surfaces or from against the sides of a bin or barge, the path of the scraping edge of the blade-like part D should at the initial movement of closing descend with a sharp curvature that diminishes as the jaws approach each other, whereby the material is first penetrated to adepth to insure a purchase and 1 load and is then scraped together within the bucket. As the drawings indicate, the downv wardlyprojecting pieces S S'serve to prejl5 vent. the escape of material at the sides when the jaws are closed, and by leaving the rear yofsaid jaws uninclosed, as I preferentially do,-any surplus load above the capacity of thegbucket will be forced'out at the rear withzo out in any degree packing within the'bucket or interfering with its proper operation. Said side ordownwardly-extending pieces .9 s are essential features of my device in the form thereof covered by the special claims referring to the same. Indeed,whatever the form of bucket in other respects such side pieces are material adjuncts in the successful use of any bucket having hoe-shaped jaws that have sides which. are cut away in front of the lower or scraping. end and recede upwardly therefrom or are omitted entirely.

,Of course many modifications of the construction above described may be made in design or detail without departing from my in vention in its broader scope, and in this sense I accordingly do not wish that said invention be limited to the precise forms I show. The

. method ofmovably connecting the jaws to the track T, for instance, or supplying its function may be varied and changed and a'bucket hearing such changed feature would still come within the wider principle I intend to cover and claim, and although in showing an operativedevice that includes the principles of my invention I have represented the sheaveblock 0 with an axis coincident with that of the pivotal connection of the bucket segments or jaws D, I do not intend in every instance to limit my invention to that precise 5o,relati0n between-said head or sheave block 0 j and the pivotal point of said jaws. As a matter of useful. construction it willjoften be found of advantage to connect said sheaveblocks to thelcommon pivotal point of said jaws in such manner that the head orblock So,too,,while I have described and shown a bucket whose jaws by virtue of the particular contour of the guides or tracks carrying the sliding.blocksior pieces b are constrained totravel in such manner' that the lower or scraping edges of said jaws describe a diminishing curve I do notmean in the broader sense to confine said contour to that so shown. My invention comprises any predetermined carrying the sheaves does not share the com mon pivot or pivotal point, but, on the cond f trary, is located above or elsewhere therefrom.

out in certain of the claims, to accordingly,

make said edges describe a regular curve, for

instance, or to move entirely in a straight line or lines.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a hoisting-bucket, the combination, with a housing or framework of bucket segments or jaws, oppositely hinged or pivotally joined together within the same at their up per ends, and pivotally connected to said housing or framework near their lower ends by movable fulcrums; guides or tracks on said housing or framework upon which said fulcrums bear, and suitable means for vertically raising said upper ends of said segments or jaws within said housing, and of permitting the same to similarly descend, substantially as shown and described. r

2. In a hoisting-bucket, the combination, with a housing or framework of bucket segments or jaws, with upwardly-receding sides oppositely hinged or pivotallyjoined. together with the same at their upper ends,and'pivotally connected to said housing or framework near their lower ends by movable fulcrums; guides or tracks on said housing or framework upon which saidfulcruzms bear, and suitable means for vertically raising said upper ends of said segments or jaws within said housing-and of permitting the same to similarly descend-substantially as shown and described.

3. In a hoisting-bucket, the combination, with a housing or framework of bucket segments or jaws, with upwardly-receding sides, oppositely hinged or pivotally joined together within the same at their upper ends, and pivotally connected to said housing or framework near their lower ends by movable fulcrums; guides or tracks on said housing or framework upon which said fulcrums bear,

IIO

side pieces extending downwardly from said purpose, and pivotally connected neartheir lower ends to said housing by movable connections arranged to follow a predetermined course when said upper ends are vertically oscillated within said housing, in combination with suitable means for so oscillating said upper ends, substantially as shown and described.

5. A hoisting or grab bucket, having two jaws with upwardly-receding sides, pivotally connected together at their upper ends within a housing provided for the purpose, and pivotally connected near their lower ends to said housing by movable connections arranged to follow a predetermined course when said upper ends are vertically oscillated within said housing, in combination with suitable means for so oscillating said upper ends, substantially as shown and described;

6. A hoisting or grab bucket, having two jaws with upwardly-receding sides, pivotally connected together at their upper ends within a housing provided for the purpose, and pivotally connected near their lower ends to said housing by movable connections, arranged to follow a predetermined course when said'upper endsare vertically oscillated within said housing, side pieces extending downwardly from said housing suitably located and of proper dimensions to close the aperture or space between said segments or jaws when the latter are in contact at their lower or scraping edges, in combination with suitable means for so oscillating said upper ends, substantially as shown and described.

7. A hoisting or grab bucket, having two jaws pivotally joined together at their upper ends within a housing provided for the purpose, a sheave-block connected to said pivotal coupling of said jaws, and vertical guides for said sheave block through said housing; guides or tracks along the lower portion of said-housing carrying sliding blocks or pieces to which said jaws are pivotally connected, the said guides or tracks having a predetermined contour according to which, when said head is vertically oscillated, said blocks or pieces, with their connected jaws, will be constrained to travel and to thereby shift said fulcrums or pivotal points near the lower ends of said jaws, in combination with suitable means for oscillating said head,-substantially as shown and described.

8. A hoisting or grab bucket, having two jaws with upwardly-receding sides pivotally joined together at their upper ends Within a housing provided for the purpose, a sheaveblock connected to said pivotal coupling of said jaws, and vertical guides for said sheaveblock through said housing; guides or tracks along the lower portion of said housing carryin g sliding blocks or pieces to which said jaws are pivotally connected, the said guides or tracks having a predetermined contour according to which, when said head is vertically oscillated, said blocks or pieces, with their connected jaws, will be constrained to travel and to thereby shift said fulcrums or pivotal points near the lower ends of said jaws; in combination with suitable means for oscillating said head, substantially as shown and described.

9. A hoisting or grab bucket, having two jaws with upwardly-receding sides pivotally joined together at their upper ends within a housing provided for the purpose, side pieces extending downwardly from said housing suitably located and of proper dimensions to close the aperture or space between said segments or jaws, when the latter are in contact at their lower or scraping edges, a sheaveblock connected to said pivotal coupling or connection of said jaws, and vertical guides for said head through said housing; guides or tracks along the lower portion of said housing carrying sliding blocks or pieces to which said jaws are pivotally connected, the said guides or tracks having a predetermined contour according to which, when said head is vertically oscillated, said blocks or pieces, with their connected jaws, will be constrained to travel and to thereby shift said fulcrum or pivotal points near the lower ends of said jaws, in combination with suitable means for oscillating said head, substantially as shown and described.

10. In a hoisting-bucket, the combination of twojaws pivotally connected together within a framework provided for the purpose, the said pivotal connection being connected, at or near the same with a series of sheaves and being in engagement with guides or tracks along the lower portion of said framework provided with movable blocks or pieces to which said jaws are pivotally connected near their ends; a head or block at or near the top of said bucket containing a series of sheaves corresponding with those hereinbefore first described, together with an operating rope or chain suitably reeved around said two series, substantially as shown and described.

11. In a hoisting-bucket, the combination of two jaws with upwardly-receding sides pivotally connected together within a framework provided for the purpose, the said pivotal connection being connected, at or near the same, with a series of sheaves and being in engagement with guides or tracks extending vertically through said framework; guides or tracks along the lower portion of said framework provided with movable blocks or pieces to which said jaws are pivotally connected near their lower ends; a head or block, at or near the top of said bucket containing a series of sheaves corresponding with those hereinbefore first described, together with an operating rope orchain suitably reeved around said two series, substantially as shown and described.

12. In a hoisting-bucket, the combination of two jaws with upwardly-receding sides pivotally connected together within a framework provided for the purpose, the said pivotal connection being connected with a series of sheaves provided for the purpose and being in engagement with guides or tracks extending vertically through said framework; guides or tracks along the lower portion of said framework provided with movable blocksor pieces to which said jaws are pivotally connected near their lower ends; side pieces extending downwardly from said framework of IIO suitable dimensions to close the aperture or space between said jaws when the latter are in contact at their lower or scraping'edges; a head or block, at or near the top of said bucket containing a series of sheaves corresponding with those hereinbefore first described, to-

gether with an operating rope or chain suitably reeved around said two series, substantially as shown and described.

13. In a hoisting-bucket, the combination of two jaws pivotally connected together Within a framework provided for the purpose, the

said pivotal connection being joined, to a series of sheaves provided for the purpose and being in, engagement with guides or tracks extending vertically through said framework; guides or tracks along the lower portion of containing a series of sheaves corresponding with those hereinbefore first described, together with an operating rope or chain suitably reeved around said two series, substantially as shown and described.

ALEXANDER E. BROWN. -In presence of- W. W. RIOKER, F. G. TALLMAN. 

